UPDATE:
BWF throws out appeal by Korean and Indonesian women doubles pair. Says no further action on them and Chinese pair. Replacements for the four players are: Valerie Sorokina/Nina Vislova ( Russia), Alex Bruce/Michelle Li (Canada), Leanne Choo/Renuga Veeran (Australia) and Michelle Edwards/Annari Viljoen ( South Africa)
The World Badminton Federation, it is learnt, has slammed the door on four women's doubles players that did not play their final group matches at the Olympics in the right spirit.
BWF throws out appeal by Korean and Indonesian women doubles pair. Says no further action on them and Chinese pair. Replacements for the four players are: Valerie Sorokina/Nina Vislova ( Russia), Alex Bruce/Michelle Li (Canada), Leanne Choo/Renuga Veeran (Australia) and Michelle Edwards/Annari Viljoen ( South Africa)
The World Badminton Federation, it is learnt, has slammed the door on four women's doubles players that did not play their final group matches at the Olympics in the right spirit.
The controversy prompted the international federation to charge eight
players for failing to adhere to the sports code of conduct.
And China's number one player Lin Dan criticised the Badminton World Federation for instituting a system that was ripe for manipulation.
"I think it will definitely bring a negative impact, because all of these fans came to watch this tournament," the 28-year-old told reporters at Wembley Arena.
"This situation really is not in the Olympic sporting spirit."
And China's number one player Lin Dan criticised the Badminton World Federation for instituting a system that was ripe for manipulation.
"I think it will definitely bring a negative impact, because all of these fans came to watch this tournament," the 28-year-old told reporters at Wembley Arena.
"This situation really is not in the Olympic sporting spirit."
The players involved were China's world champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu
Yang, Indonesia's Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari and two South
Korean pairs - Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, and Ha Jung-eun and Kim
Min-jung.
Spectators at the Wembley Arena shouted abuse and jeered at the players
as badminton matches descended into farce, with the teams deliberately
spraying shots and duffing serves into the net to concede points.
Top seeds Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and South
Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na were booed off court after in which players regularly served into the net or hit wide apparently on purpose.
Both pairs were already into the last 16, with the winners set to face the Chinese second seeds, Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei. An unexpected loss by Tian and Zhao in an earlier round had confused the draw.
The Korean pair eventually won that game, keeping the two Chinese teams apart and prompting the South Korean to attack China for ignoring the Olympic spirit. Yang later claimed that she and her partner had been "conserving energy".
But with the draw now queered, the crowd's mood did not improve when a similar scenario unfolded during the game between Korean number three seeds and the Indonesians. At one point match referee Thorsten Berg disqualified Indonesia but they were reinstated after an appeal.
